


Partners In Crime

by beifong_simp



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Lin Beifong, F/F, Falling In Love, I just put that to be safe, Idiots in Love, Oops, So much Canon Divergence, be prepared for that, because like, but yeah, it’s there, major character death has now been planned for chapter 17, so much hot villain lin and kya, so uh, the violence isn’t actually that graphic, villain kya au, villain lin au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29890566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beifong_simp/pseuds/beifong_simp
Summary: “You’ll never take us alive. We swore that death will do us part, they’ll call our crime a work of art. You’ll never take us alive, we’ll live like spoiled royalty. Lovers and partners, partners in crime.”
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 55
Kudos: 42





	1. Don’t Let Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s in my head, darling I hope, that you’ll be here when I need you the most. So, don’t let me, don’t let me, don’t let me down, no don’t let me down.”

I watched in horror as my cables flew back towards me. I stood unmoving, fear freezing me to the spot. There was no time to think, and suddenly my face burned. I heard a cry escape my throat and I finally found a will to move. I grasped the side of my face, tears pricking my eyes. Everything was silent, but there was a ringing in my ears that was far too loud.  
I pulled my hand away from my face, sickened by the thick blood that now drenched it. My fear was suddenly replaced by rage. I whipped my head up to glare at the man who had escaped me. The man who had just killed my mother in front of me. I charged at him, ignoring the cold air stinging my fresh wounds. Just as I reached him, I bent the swords out of my sleeves.  
I had never seen so much blood come from one person. I didn’t care either. I kept angrily punching at him, the swords on my arms cutting clean through him every time. I was sure there was blood covering every part of me, glistening in the moonlight. I could feel my own blood dripping from my jaw, sliding warm down my neck. It only made me more angry.  
I suddenly heard a siren behind me. My mom and I had been on patrol that night, and when the situation had escalated we’d called for backup. But I couldn’t face them now, not like this. It was police policy to never harm someone unless there was no other option. I had strayed far from that policy, blinded by my rage.  
I panicked. Where could I go? Then it hit me. We were at the harbour front. I’d have to swim, or fashion some sort of makeshift boat from my armour, but that was easy enough. I pulled the armour from my body and bent it quickly into what somewhat resembled a boat, but there wasn’t enough.  
Guilt came over me as I reached for my mother. I didn’t have time to care though, the backup officers were already approaching fast. I bent it off of her limp form and added it to the boat, adding a propeller and dropping it into the water. I jumped down after it, landing hard in the middle and feeling water splash on my hot face. Several drops landed where my cheek had been split open, reigniting the pain yet again. I forced myself not to care and began bending the propeller, thrusting myself towards the island and away from the horrible scene behind me.  
I heard shouts from the dock behind me but ignored them. All I could do now was run, and if anyone knew how to run it would be Kya. She’d been gone for several years but was back visiting this week.  
_How convenient,_ I thought to myself. The one time I need to run, and the expert is at my disposal.  
I pushed the propeller to spin faster, and I got to the island in record time. I crashed on the sandy beach, abandoning my crumpled metal boat and stumbling up to the temple. I avoided the windows and doors, instead sneaking around to the back where Kya’s room was. I peaked in, relieved to see her still awake despite the late hour. Tears finally fell from my eyes, a slightly manic smile coming across my face.  
I tapped frantically on the glass, getting her attention quickly. Her face was happy to see me at first, but then she took in all the blood. She rushed to the window, ripping it open in a panic of her own. She grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me through, holding me steady when I nearly fell on the other side.  
“Lin, what the _hell_ happened?!” She hissed, trying to keep her voice low.  
I opened my mouth to explain, but she ran out of the room before I could. I moved to look in her mirror, scared to see the extent of the damage but curious at the same time. I gasped when I saw myself, surprised at just how bad it was even though the pain suggested as much.  
I lifted my hand to gently touch my reddened cheek, sticky blood further coating my fingers. My eyes left my face, travelling down my shivering body. My white tank top was dyed bright red, soaked through with blood. There were also very large patches of my dark green pants that were several shades deeper, drooping with the extra weight of the blood.  
My hands and arms were also smeared with bright red. It looked like I’d ripped someone to shreds, but then again, I suppose I had. Before I could think about it any more, Kya burst back in with a bowl of water and bandages.  
“Sit. Now,” She ordered, pointing to the wooden chair I was standing next to.  
I followed her instructions, and she knelt on the ground beside me. She set the bowl and bandages down, bending the water up to my face. It glowed blue and I grimaced at the sudden cold, but it began to sooth my injury quickly. I let her heal me as much as she could, but the cuts were far too deep to heal without scarring. When she’d done all that was possible, she used the water to clean the blood from my face. She applied a square bandage, securing it with several other sticky medical strips.  
Then, she looked up and down the rest of me.  
“You know what, you can explain later. Go shower,” She picked up the bowl and discarded bandage wrapper, leaving the room to discard them in the bathroom.  
I followed closely behind her, not wanting to see anyone else, but knowing that I desperately needed to wash off. I didn’t care to wait for her to leave before stripping off my ruined clothes, jumping into the shower as soon as they were off. I turned on the water, for once glad that the island only had cold water access.  
When I stepped out of the shower, I found that my soiled clothes had been taken, and one of Kya’s travel outfits was folded neatly by the sink. I slipped into the flowing two-tone light blue blouse and dark blue pants, marvelling at how well they fit me. Before stepping out, I took several deep breaths. I hoped she wouldn't hate me for what I’d done, and prayed she’d agree to run away with me.  
I glanced both ways to make sure nobody else was there before stepping into the hall. I ran quickly back to Kya’s room, rushing to close the door behind me when I slipped in. I turned and pressed my back to the door, turning my gaze to Kya.  
“I have to get out of here,” I breathed.  
“What? Why? Where will you go?” Kya patted the bed beside her, concern growing on her face.  
I walked over to her and sat cross legged on the uncomfortable slate. I took another deep breath before starting.  
“I was on night patrol. With my mom, and these guys were terrorizing this girl. We had to do something. But they-,” I choked back a sob.  
“They all turned on us. I was so scared, and I think their leader could tell. He turned on me, leaving the rest of them to attack my mom. I heard the poor girl escape. And I heard my mom fighting off the other triad members. She was doing better than I was, but I called for backup anyway. I’d been focused on dodging attacks, not landing any of my own.  
“Before our backup got there, she’d successfully arrested three of them, the other two running off. I glanced back at her, and the guy I was going against used my distraction to knock me down. She came to help me. She wanted to protect me. She-,” I swiped at my cheeks, trying to calm my shaking breath.  
“She died trying to protect me. He attacked her with everything he had, using me to make her vulnerable. He’d go to attack me and she stood in front of me, taking every hit for me. Just before I got up, he landed a hit to her head. She fell, and I shook her shoulders, but she didn’t respond. I got up and hurled my cables at him, putting everything I had into it. But he cut them from where I’d wrapped them around his wrist. They came flying back at me. I was so scared. But then they hit me, and I-  
“It hurt so much. And the reality of everything set in, and I got so angry. I launched at him, surprising him. I was so blinded that I couldn’t stop, I just kept ramming my fists, my blades, into him. I only stopped when I heard the reinforcements come. The only thing I could think to do was come here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Kya,” My hands were shaking and tears streamed down my face.  
Kya took my hands.  
“Don’t be sorry. Hell, _I’m_ sorry, that’s all awful. We’re going to get out of here. I’m not letting you leave alone, alright? I’ll take care of you. We can leave tonight if you’d like,” She looked directly in my eyes, not a trace of fear, disgust, or anger in her.  
I nodded.  
“Please,” I whispered.


	2. Running With The Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My heart still beats and my skin still feels, my lungs still breathe and my mind still fears. But we’re running out of time, all the echoes in my mind cry.”

I kept having dreams of that night. It was etched in my mind, but with every replay I grew less and less repulsed by what I’d done. Sometimes if Kya and I were on a long train ride, I’d imagine what his body would’ve looked like in the light, blood spilling everywhere. At first the fact that I no longer hated the idea of hurting someone, that I liked it even, had horrified me. But not anymore.  
Kya and I had been on the run for a few weeks now. We’d hopped from city to city, though after the first train out of Republic City we’d stopped buying tickets. The Republic City police were trying to find me, connecting my disappearance with my call for backup and the man I’d left dead and charging me with excessive force alone with first degree murder. There were also police from just about every town trying to catch us, although that was only for theft, trespassing, and other minor crimes.  
Today was the first day we were going back to Republic City. We were riding on the roof of the train, the city quickly approaching. We held on tightly, watching the buildings growing closer with each second that passed. Just as the train was starting to slow for its arrival at the station, Kya nodded at me with a mischievous grin.  
No matter how many times we did this, jumping from the moving surface never failed to get my heart racing. I loved the adrenaline that followed the leap, the rolling to a halt on the ground. All the little bruises Kya and I would find on one another later that night. How she’d heal us both in a cold bath in whatever motel we weren’t paying for that night.  
This time was no different, aside from where we planned on staying for the night. Tonight, we’d be paying a visit to the Republic City Beifong estate.  
We made it off the train, both laughing as we did so. The fun ended before it had started, though, as several whistles and shouts sounded from the nearby platform. I grabbed Kya’s hand, pulling her close to me before bending a hole in the ground directly below us. I closed up the top of the hole, then propelled us towards the city, completely underground.  
Eventually I found us a drain pipe to climb out of, easily metalbending a hold in it for us to crawl through. We clambered up the ladder inside the drain, and I pushed the grate off so we could get out. I peaked out to make sure no Satomobiles were coming, then slid myself out of the drain completely.  
Kya followed me out quickly. Then, after I returned the grate to its former position and we brushed ourselves off, we started walking.  
Kya looped her arm through mine, her touch sending sparks through my skin. I let a smug smile spread across my face, ignoring the twinge it sent through my now unbandaged cheek.  
I could feel people looking at us as we strolled casually down the busy street, no doubt having seen our faces in the recent papers. Only now, my face had changed drastically.  
“You know what we should do?” I mused to Kya, resting my head on her shoulder as we walked.  
“No, I don’t. What’d you have in mind?” She replied curiously.  
“I wanna destroy something,” We stopped walking for a moment and I turned my head so my chin was propped on her shoulder, my face inches from hers.  
She chuckled and raised an eyebrow at me.  
“A former cop, eh? I never would’ve guessed,” She turned back to the road and started walking again, pulling me with her.  
“What is it you’d like to destroy, exactly?”  
“Anything. Everything. But I think a good start would be… ” I trailed off for a second, scanning the area.  
My eyes landed on a group of cop cars on the corner just ahead of us. My blood heated, the anger of that night returning. It was that job that took my mother’s life, and now they wanted to take mine and Kya’s too. It was only too perfect.  
“There,” I said, pointing at the cluster of cars.  
Kya grinned wickedly. We continued walking towards them, careful to avoid the officers that drove each car. They were all empty when we got there, though, so we got straight to the fun part.  
Kya used the water from her waterskin to break every pane of glass in sight. She then took to unscrewing any and every bolt holding the cars together. The cars that she’d taken to looked like they’d merely been robbed, broken windows being the worst of their ailments. I smiled at the idea of someone trying to drive one of them and having the entire thing collapse.  
My approach was a lot less delicate. I used my bending to rip the doors off first, then stripping the rest of the plating. When all that remained were twisted wires and inner mechanical parts, I crushed them with all my might. The cars I’d taken were barely recognizable as cars when I’d finished.  
We were walking away from the ruins we’d created when there was a shout behind us. I glanced back, disappointed when I was met with eight officers in uniform.  
“Run,” I whispered, tightly squeezing Kya’s hand in mine.  
We bolted down the street, shoving past civilians and small stalls. There were two large metallic crashes behind us, and we both burst out laughing. More shouts followed, the officers realizing they had no functional cars to rely on. Of course they could swing from their cables, using buildings to propel themselves, but they’d grumble about their joint pain for days afterwards. I’d always thought the other officers relied far too much on their Satomobiles, never caring enough to really train like I did. It played in my favour now, and I was glad I’d only complained to my mother about it.  
Kya saw the street of the estate before I did, yanking my arm to get me to follow her lead. It was two blocks from where we were now, and with the pace of the now swinging officers following behind us, they’d catch up just as we got there.  
A part of me wanted to stop running, to fight my former coworkers. It was Kya’s hand in mine along with the abundance of people mulling around innocently that put me off the idea. I wanted to cause bloodshed, yes, but I couldn’t now. Not yet. Now was the time to make it before time ran out, to save our backs while we still had air in our lungs and blood in our veins.  
We had to run across an empty street before reaching the estate, the last major hurdle aside from the door. I could hear the voices of our pursuers growing closer, the metallic taps of their cables approaching with them. We sped across the street, not checking for cars first. I bent the gate open before we got there, following Kya through before dashing through myself. I slammed and locked it behind us and we kept running, now completely exposed in the estate’s open garden.  
Several officers rolled to the ground after swinging over the fence, now chasing us on foot. Kya and I were both panting by the time we got to the door. I tried to open it with my bending, but the platinum lock wouldn’t budge. Kya pulled the water from her waterskin again and froze it around the lock, using the cold to snap it seconds before they were upon us.  
Our hearts pounded in our chests as we leaned against the heavy door. The officers banged on the door, but they didn’t force their way in. Together me and Kya built up a blockade against the now unlockable door, combining metal and ice so that the metalbending police wouldn’t be able to get in alone. The estate would no doubt be surrounded by nightfall, but we’d find our way out. We were stronger now, and we’d only grow more.  
That visit back to Republic City was the first time I destroyed something, and the first time I had been so tempted to attack someone. It only got worse from there.


	3. Bit By Bit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m getting on a mountain, away from the people on the ground and some cop sticking up my wagon. Chop, chop, we’re gonna build a cabin, up top on a pretty little mountain, fuck off all you people on the ground, yeah.”

Several years went by, not much about our situation changing. Our crimes got more and more serious, and we did leave chumps dead on increasingly frequent occasions. It was a life that suited us, moving around often, getting by with what we needed and not much more. But I started to crave something else. I wanted more, wanted something to call our own. Kya and I were at a small motel just outside of Republic City when I brought it up for the first time.  
“I’m sick of running,” I complained to her.  
She raised an eyebrow at me, wiping egg salad from the corners of her mouth.  
“What, are you gonna report yourself? Spend the rest of your life in prison?” She laughed and shook her head.  
“Of course not, Kya, I just thought maybe… ” I trailed off, suddenly realizing how illogical my wish had been.  
“I think you need to go on an adventure,” She suggested, her eyes darkening.  
“Mhmm, I think you might be right,” I grinned, crossing the room to her in two large steps.  
I kissed her hard, our teeth hitting with the force of it. Then, I bent the metal I’d found in a variety of different locations and fit it perfectly onto my body. The protective layer looked like a bodysuit when I finished, covering from my neck down with no sign of the tank top and leggings I wore beneath it. Kya wore a more formal layer of protection, one not quite as tight to her body but effective enough to keep her safe. I pulled her into another kiss before we climbed from the window of the motel room and into the night.

We made three kills that night. The first was one of the current co-owners of Cabbage Corp. He barely fought back, but I still enjoyed watching him desperately grasping at his bleeding throat while the life drained from his eyes. I was distracted by my kill when two higher-ups from the Triple Threat Triad attacked Kya, recognizing her as one of the two highest bounties in the country. She fought them off easily, killing one smoothly with an ice spike through the heart and causing the other to run off terrified.  
We stalked through the streets, hand in bloody hand, scanning for our next victim. Most people we passed did recognize us, but made no attempt to fight us or even call the police despite our high bounties. Many of them actively avoided us, crossing the street or walking faster, scared by our reputation. I reveled in the feeling of being feared.  
Occasionally there was a braver civilian, one desperate enough for the money that they’d do just about anything. I heard sirens in the distance and laughed, curious as to who the brave soul was this time. Kya chuckled with me and tugged my arm, nodding towards an alleyway just ahead of us. I let her walk ahead, smiling when I heard a raw scream from the shadows. There was a clatter as the civilian’s phone fell to the ground and as I came into the small space behind Kya. I saw that the civilian was lifted off the stone floor, though not a finger had been laid on the woman.  
A wicked smile spread across my face.  
I loved it when Kya bloodbent. There was something so enticing about the power that radiated off of her when she did, her energy directed solely towards the craft. I loved how she grinned, eyes completely focussed and hands stretched out in front of her while her victim's limbs twisted in midair. I loved the squirming and attempts to resist from her victims, the gasps and cries of pain.  
I pressed myself against her back, wrapping my arms around her waist and peaking my chin over her shoulder. I kissed her neck, eyes watching the terrified woman above us. She had tears streaming down her face and seemed to be trying to plead for mercy, though no sound escaped her throat.  
Once Kya had toyed with the woman enough to satisfy her, she finished the job. The woman’s eyes bulged and her mouth gaped as Kya stopped her heart cold, letting her fall to the ground. She turned her head to kiss my scarred cheek with glee. Before long, though, we snapped back to reality.  
There was an operator still on the other end of the phone, speaking in a panicked tone to who she thought was the now dead woman. I left my place behind Kya and leaned down to pick it up, turning up the volume. I chuckled at her pleas for the woman to stay calm, her assurances of police on their way. When she heard my laugh she fell silent, no doubt immediately realizing what had happened.  
“I really don’t think that’ll be necessary,” I purred into the phone.  
“D-don’t move, the police are on their way,” The operator stuttered, voice barely more than a whisper.  
Kya took the phone from me, speaking in a low voice to the operator.  
“Listen here. We’re going to go back to our room for the night, and we’re leaving you here with this sweet, brave woman. You can say what you want to the police when they get here, I really don’t care, but next time someone calls you about us, you hang up. Got it?” Kya licked her lips as she waited for an answer.  
“O-of course,” The operator said after a minute of silence.  
Kya smiled and set the phone face up on the ground next to the now cold civilian. She took my hand in hers and brought it up to kiss my knuckles softly, eyes twinkling under the warm city lights. The moment was once again shattered when sirens sounded on the street just outside the alley.  
“Put your hands in the air!” I heard an officer yell.  
I grinned and pulled Kya against me by her waist. The officer started to walk towards us, hands shaking in a ready position with his cables ready to use. It was foolish of him not to bind us in the metal ropes right away, and I took advantage of his naïve mistake. I reached out, pulling one of the cables from his back and wrapping it around my wrist. I shot the end of it up, hooking it onto a lamppost on the main street. With a wink at the officer, I pulled myself and Kya up and over the group of police vehicles.  
I swung us from the lamppost to the top of a nearby building, low laughter escaping my throat. Kya beamed at me and took my hand, and from there we ran over buildings and through streets, easily losing the officers in our wake and slipping back into our motel room safely. We stripped and showered together, thoroughly washing the blood out of our undergarments and armour.  
When we were clean, I rummaged through my small travel bag, pulling out my journal. I’d been slowly working through it, building a list of names one at a time in correspondence with the kills we made. Some were full names, but there were many unknowns, the name John Doe standing in for each one. I was building a personal record of Kya and I’s existence in this world, a little but at a time. It was one of my favourite parts of our adventures, getting to write out more names.  
Once I’d added our three kills of the night, I slipped into the mediocre bed next to Kya and turned out the light.  
“Thank you, I needed that,” I said softly against her chest.  
“Anytime,” She replied softly, snuggling into my hair.


	4. Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Father, please forgive me. You know you’ll never leave me.”

I was out getting food to bring back to Kya when I saw her. I hadn’t seen her since the day our mother died, the day I ran away. It was a surreal experience, and I froze in shock. She didn’t notice me at first, but froze just as I had when our eyes met.  
“Lin?” She asked, walking cautiously closer to me.  
“Su,” She was now the same height as me, and looked very well off.  
It was funny to me that when we’d been young, she’d been the rebel, the friend of criminals, and I’d been the police officer. Now, I was the most wanted criminal in the entire country, and she was completely law-abiding.  
It took me completely by surprise when she pulled me into a tight hug. I stood still until she pulled away, unsure of what to do. When she stepped back, she wiped tears from her eyes and smiled sadly at me.  
“I hear about you a lot on the news,” She said with a small laugh.  
I looked at my shoes, ashamed of my actions for the first time since the night I left. She put her hand on my shoulder and I looked back up at her.  
“I missed you,” She said quietly.  
“I missed you, too,” I responded. “What have you been up to?”  
“Oh, you know,” She gestured dismissively before continuing.  
“I got married and we’re now building a city together, just a train ride away from Republic City, actually,” I raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed.  
“Who’d you marry?” I asked, crossing my arms.  
“His name is Baatar,” She said with a smile.  
“You tell me immediately if he ever does anything to you, alright? No man hurts my sister and gets away with it,” She smirked at my threat, not really believing me.  
“Su, I’m serious. Promise me?” Her eyes widened slightly but she nodded, smirk disappearing.  
She glanced around us briefly, noticing a few people watching us suspiciously.  
“Would you like to walk?” She gestured towards the market we were on the edge of.  
I nodded and we began walking through the market. At nearly every stall we passed, I reached over and took a few items for Kya and I. Su shifted uncomfortably each time I did, glancing nervously at the bag in my hand growing heavier by the minute. We’d been through maybe half of the stalls, when I reached out to grab a large dragonfruit. To my surprise, Su grabbed my wrist and turned me to face her.  
“Do you never pay?” She asked in slight disbelief.  
I shrugged, slipping my wrist from her hand and grabbing the fruit from behind her.  
“We’ve got plenty of money, you know. And these people aren’t selling for fun, they have families to feed. You really don’t care about anyone else anymore, do you,” She shook her head sadly.  
I frowned at her accusation, feeling anger start to grow in my chest.  
“Of course I care about people! I care about Kya, and mom, and you, and-,” Su looked at me, her green eyes bright yet heavy.  
“Mom is dead, Lin. This is the first time I’m seeing you in almost ten years, and Kya… She’s as much a criminal as you are. I’m sorry, but I don’t think it matters much anymore. You’ve chosen how you want to live, it’s not like anybody expects you to change now. Even if you said you wanted to, the best you could get would be a lifetime in prison,” Su shook her head again, then pulled her hand away from my arm.  
“I have to go,” She said before walking away, leaving me standing there alone.  
I stared at the ground for a long moment. I felt guilty about leaving her all those years ago, but she was right. There was nothing to be done about it now.  
I lifted my head, making eye contact with the owner of the fruit stand. I held his eye as I slowly reached out and took a mango from another large basket. He gulped but couldn’t bring himself to look away. A smile spread slowly across my face and I shoved my guilt away, deciding I’d try to forget the encounter with my sister as quickly as possible.  
I could see the poor man shaking, but today I decided to leave him alone aside from the fruit I’d stolen. I wasn’t sure if it was because of what my sister had said to me or if I was just in a good mood today, but I left without saying anything to him. I walked through the remainder of the market, grabbing a few last food items on my way out, and found myself on a busy main street.  
People scurried out of my way as I walked towards the empty apartment Kya and I had broken into two days prior. I wanted to scream, to tell them that I wasn’t going to hurt any of them. I thought back to what Su had said again, my mouth remaining closed. She was right in saying they’d never believe me, so I walked on and focused on the power I had, the joy that it brought.  
Just as I was rounding the last corner to our temporary apartment, I noticed a group of black Satomobiles. They weren’t police, but there was no way they were civilian either. I continued walking, waiting for special officers or some other highly trained people to jump out at me. I walked past the cars, glaring into the shaded windows. I could feel eyes watching me back through those windows, but none of the doors opened. When I got to the door of the apartment complex, I bent the lock open and pushed the door in.  
Just before I stepped inside, I stomped hard on the earthen ground. A pillar of earth shot up underneath one of the cars, shooting it into the air. I smiled at the crash and slipped into the building, hurrying up to Kya. When I got to the apartment, Kya was standing by the small window that overlooked the street.  
“We have to find a new place tonight,” She said matter-of-factly.  
“Who are those guys?” I asked, out of curiosity but also caution.  
I knew we’d been followed by the police of most cities in the Earth Kingdom for years now, but these new cars were different. They hadn’t attacked me, and that made me nervous. I knew we’d have to be more careful about where we stayed from now on, but that wouldn’t be too hard.  
Kya turned to me and shrugged, then took the bag of food from my hand and placed it on the counter.  
“We can take em’,” She said confidently.  
I grinned at her, leaning over the counter and kissing her.  
“‘Course we can,” I agreed, no longer caring about what my sister had said and instead letting myself be completely happy with the love of my life.

Once it had gotten dark, we packed up our things into the compact bags we brought with us everywhere. Kya waterbent an ice platform outside of the window for us to stand on, then slowly but surely raised it until we were at the level of the roof. We stepped onto the more solid surface and looked out at the city below us. The cars were still waiting by the door of the building, though the one I’d totalled had been taken away and replaced.  
I always enjoyed seeing the city like this, in the dark of night and from so high up. There was no time to spare smelling the roses, though, and we got a move on to our next location right away. We travelled across the tops of building after building, crossing the city rather quickly and taking turns getting each other to the next roof over large streets. We reached the water’s edge and looked out at Air Temple Island and the Avatar Aang memorial.  
I grabbed Kya’s hand and squeezed it.  
“I saw my sister today,” I said quietly, watching her reaction carefully.  
She was quiet for a moment, thinking.  
“Can we go to the island?” She asked after a while.  
“I’d love to,” I responded.  
I knew she missed her siblings and parents, and it seemed only fair that we pay them a visit after I’d seen my sister for the first time in so long. Kya deserved to see her family too.  
I once again formed a platform out of my metal armour, though this time it was more of a raft. Kya propelled us with her waterbending, getting us to the island quickly. When we arrived, I bent my armour back on and we walked quietly up the beach. I was certain we could convince her family not to call the cops on us, so we walked in through the main doors.  
We found them eating a late dinner together. There was a girl I didn’t recognize sitting close to Tenzin who looked like she could be ten years younger than us. She was the first to notice us, her eyes growing huge as she scrambled away from the table to the far wall. All eyes turned to us as soon as she did, surprise and slight fear displayed plainly on every face.  
I took Kya’s hand in mine and squeezed in gently.  
“Room for two more?” She asked politely, to which her father nodded hesitantly.  
Aang was the Avatar, the one supposed to be keeping peace in the world. It felt odd to sit at a table with him, eating his food, when we were two of the biggest criminals around, but he was Kya’s father too. Katara looked at the girl standing against the wall, smiling and reassuring her.  
“It’s alright, Pema. I don’t think they’re here to hurt us, you can come sit down again,” She patted the table lightly.  
_Pema. Must be one of the air acolytes, probably making moon eyes at Tenzin,_ I thought to myself. I laughed slightly at the look on her face as she sat, taking the spot she’d been in before. I was seated directly across from her, Kya by my side, and Tenzin by her’s. There was a moment of awkward silence before Bumi spoke, desperate to shift the uncomfortable air around us.  
“So, uh, you two have been busy,” He said with a nervous laugh.  
“Yeah, yeah, you all know what we’ve been up to. Tell us how it’s been going here,” Kya looked at her father. “Please?”  
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Kya as she listened to the stories her family told over dinner. Her expressions were no different than they were when we were just the two of us, but there was something about her that made her seem like she was a little kid again. I held her hand under the table the whole time, and was glad that her parents and brothers slowly seemed to relax. Pema continued eyeing us suspiciously all the way until we went to bed, but I didn’t let it bother me.  
We slept well and left early the next morning, not stopping to say goodbye.


	5. Wrecking Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I made a wreck out of my hand, I put it through the wall. I made a fist and not a plan, call me a reckless wrecking ball.”

“Kya, I need to know more about this damn special unit following us everywhere,” I groaned.  
She waved her hand, dismissing me.  
“We’re always a step ahead of them, why do we need to know more? Everything’s going just perfectly,” She looked away from her newspaper for a second to give me a light kiss on the nose.  
I huffed grumpily and crossed my arms.  
“I know you’re glaring at me,” Kya said in a singsong voice.  
“Damn right I am,” I quipped back.  
“I need to know more, I don’t like having them there all the time and not being able to identify how serious the threat is. Please, pretty please, can I pay a visit to the station? I promise I’ll be careful, although it’s not like any of them would actually try anything,” I cocked my head and waited impatiently for her answer.  
She gave me a sidelong glare and then rolled her eyes.  
“Fine, fine, just don’t get arrested or killed,” She said, to which I gave her a playful swat.  
“Of course I won’t,” I grinned widely and bent my armour on.  
This was going to be fun.

A quiet kind of torture. That’s all it was, for myself and everyone around me. The air was tenser than I’d ever felt it, the small elevator stifling our breathing. Nobody dared shift even the tiniest amount, excruciatingly aware of my armoured body squashed into the corner. There was only one person I watched, though.  
Chief Saikhan had held his position for the fourteen years since my mother;s untimely death. He’d worked under her for years, and it was fitting he take it over from her. It would’ve been me instead, but instead I landed myself here. What a different life that would’ve been.  
He must’ve felt my eyes boring into him as he turned to stare me down. the only one brave enough to move at all. It quickly turned into an angry staring contest, neither one of us saying a word. I ran my tongue over my teeth and smiled when he reluctantly blinked after at least a minute or two, losing to me when I’d barely gotten started.  
His face reddened and he huffed, facing the door of the elevator just as it opened. Almost everyone stepped out of the elevator within seconds, all desperate to get away from me. Only one officer stayed behind with me, glancing nervously in my direction every few seconds as the door closed again. I leaned against the wall and smiled kindly at her.  
“You new here, kid?” I asked.  
“U-uh, no, I-I’ve been here s-since three years ago,” She backed herself against the wall opposite me, wide eyes stuck on mine.  
The elevator pinged to tell us we’d arrived at the next requested floor, but before the door could open to let her out, I bent the seam closed. The door continues trying to open, but it was a solid plank now, and it wouldn’t open unless someone else bent it open.  
I then turned back to the girl across from me.  
“You’re going to tell me everything you know, not leaving anything out and not telling any lies. Alright?” I moved slightly towards her.  
She hesitated for a moment, glancing at the door. I could tell she was going to try to make a run for it, so I closed the distance between us completely and bent the sleeve of my armour into a knife to hold against her throat.  
 _“Alright?”_ I said again, pushing the blade into her throat enough to sting but not draw blood yet.  
She gulped and nodded, opening her mouth to speak. At first all that came out was a high pitched squeak, but after a moment she composed herself enough to start talking. She first started talking about the general police force, to which I dug the blade slightly deeper and growled.  
“I want to know about the special units, genius,” I hissed at her, then silencing to let her continue.  
“Ch-chief Saikhan started them, he’s the one heading the division. Their purpose is to track high profile criminals, like, well, like you, but not to confront them. I think he’s planning to sabotage you and some others at some point, planting security in the place they expect you to stay next. He’s told them not to outright attack, to only make moves if they’ve got the upper hand,” She paused, looking at the door again.  
There was someone on the other side, banging on it to open. I heard someone shout, and I knew there wasn’t much time left before they’d get it open.  
“Who is ‘they’? What kind of benders does he have?” I asked in a low voice.  
“All different kinds, all highly trained. I’ve met a few metalbenders who were on the regular force before, and a firebender and a waterbender. No airbenders, obviously, but I think he’s been trying to convince Avatar Aang and Master Tenzin to join him, or at least help when the time comes. They’re everywhere, they’re constantly watching you. Everywhere you go. And-,” She was cut off this time with the screeching of metal against metal.  
The doors were ripped open from the other side and I stepped back from the young officer, bending my armour back to normal. She pushed off the wall and scurried out, glancing back at me one last time and she practically ran away. I chuckled, then smiled and gestured to the few officers outside of the door to join me in the elevator. I still had two floors to go before I’d be where all their files were kept, or at least had been kept the last time I’d been here.  
When all three of the officers hesitantly walked in the other direction of the elevator, I shrugged and bent the doors so that they’d function normally again. Nobody got on until I left the small space, walking confidently into the room I remembered the files being stored in.  
Not one thing had changed. It didn’t surprise me. Saikhan had always admired my mother, but he wasn’t big on modification and growth. Seemed he’d stayed a stickler for keeping things as they were all fourteen years I’d been gone.  
I strolled around idly, enjoying the gazes of the nervous rookies who were always put in charge of filing. When I got bored of taunting them, I turned to the kid closest to me. I grabbed him by the shoulder, lifting him so he stood face to face with me. I took my hand off his shoulder and he straightened slightly, his head now tilted down to look at me.  
I tilted my head to the side and smirked at him. He was trying desperately not to look too terrified, but he was failing miserably.  
“Where’s my file?” I asked, deciding I’d amused myself enough for now.  
“Uh-,” His eyes flitted to the phone on his desk then back to me.  
I raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to try and report me. Instead, yea just nodded slowly.  
“Which one?” He asked after a moment.  
I laughed and grinned, pleased at the idea of there being multiple.  
“Get me all of them,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.  
He rushed to a cabinet on the far wall, pulling a key ring out of his pocket. I watched as he fumbled before finally finding the key he needed. He unlocked one of the boxes, sliding it out and fingering through a couple of files. He grabbed about eight consecutive files from that box and piled them under his arm. He shoved the box closed with his other hand, still holding the key.  
Once he’d locked the cabinet again, he hurried back to his desk where I stood. Everyone else was staring now, including the only senior officer who had come in just moments before.  
I took the files from the kid, bending the arm of my metal suit into a carrier for them. Once they were safely secured on my back, I walked back in the direction of the elevator.  
“Excuse me,” I said to the older officer who stood in the doorway, blocking my exit in disbelief.  
“That’s not- you can’t-,” They stammered.  
“Yes, I can, and I just did. Now I’d like to get back to my girlfriend if you don’t mind,” I lightly shoved their shoulder with my hand and they reluctantly moved out of the way, allowing me to pass.  
I took every shortcut I knew of to get back to the apartment where Kya was, excited to share my new discoveries with her. I landed in the apartment after swinging through the window and looked around for her, but something was off. The floor was soaked, and the minimal furnishings were tossed around messily. I called out for kya, panic growing in my chest. I sprinted through every room, looking under everything someone could hide under and shoving aside barricades. She had to be here.  
 _He’s planning to sabotage you._ The officer’s words ran through my mind and my heart sank.  
 _Only make moves if they’ve got the upper hand._  
Fuck.  
Kya was gone.


	6. Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hunting for love, killing for pleasure, lost in a concrete jungle.”

I stood in the apartment, files scattered around my feet. I could hardly wrap my head around it all. Kya was a more than competent fighter, I’d watched her wipe out entire squadrons with ease. I could only imagine how many highly trained benders it would have taken to take her down, even if it was a surprise attack.  
Guilt crushed over me. I’d left her, thinking only of myself. I’d made her vulnerable, left her completely alone despite the danger. I’d gotten her captured.  
I sank to the ground, hugging my knees and resting my back against the counter. My eyes flitted around the room, scanning for everything and nothing. After a long while I fell asleep there, too exhausted from the guilt to remain conscious.

I stayed on the floor there for two days. I woke up several times from nightmares of Kya’s face, angry at me for leaving her, or, better yet, in excruciating pain as they tortured her. Each time I woke up I wanted to leave immediately, to save her from the monsters who’d taken her.  
Each time I only stared at the wall, eventually falling back asleep.  
By the third day, I was aching. My body hadn’t moved, and the floor was far from comfortable. My stomach grumbled, voicing its discontent with being so empty. My mind was a battlefield, an intense hopelessness warring with the desperate need to get out of there, to find my love.  
The phone of the apartment rang, shocking me out of the spiral I’d been stuck in. I forced myself off the ground and walked over to it, hesitating for only a second before answering.  
“Hello?” I asked weakly.  
“Lin, thank god. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I had no idea this would happen. I just thought- but then he- and now she’s stuck, and I- I’m so sorry,” It was Tenzin.  
“How the hell did you know I was here?” I asked, forcing my voice back to normal.  
“I’m so sorry,” was his only response.  
“Tenzin, what are you going on about? Just explain dammit,” I barked, irritation growing.  
He took a deep breath before starting to talk. I leaned against the wall next to the phone as I listened, unsure of what to expect.  
“Dad didn’t want us to help, both because of you and Kya and because of what Saikhan’s plans were aside from the stalking. I went behind his back to help, but he lied to me. He said he was going to let me talk to Kya, to convince her to start a new life back home. I didn’t know anything, I was so stupid to believe him. As soon as I was in the apartment and talking to her, he had so many soldiers break in, and they all attacked her. She moved to protect me, but there were too many of them. I wasn’t harmed at all, they barely even noticed me. But she was distracted by needing to keep me safe, and they took advantage of that. I don’t know where they’re keeping her, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to do this. I’m so sorry,” His voice was panicked, and I could tell he wasn’t lying.  
I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes. At least I knew what had happened now. It hadn’t been entirely my fault, Tenzin had unknowingly set her up for sabotage.  
“You have to get her back,” He whispered into the phone.  
I heard a yell from behind him before he hung up, no doubt Bumi about to do something stupid. I cursed under my breath and pushed off the wall, moving swiftly around the apartment and taking anything I could use when I left that wouldn’t weigh me down too much. They must’ve gone through our things because I could hardly find anything, and had to settle with my armour and current undergarments, the files I’d retrieved earlier, and a single box of strawberries.  
I left the apartment through the window, launching myself to the roof with a single pull of my cable. It was there, looking out at the city, that I felt the numbness of the past few days dissipate. I let out an angry yell and turned my gaze to the street below. I didn’t care if I was being reckless anymore, I just needed to get Kya back. I was going to do anything it took to find her.

Fifteen the first night out. Only one of them knew anything, and the details had been minimal. I killed him slowest of all, drawing out his pain as punishment even though I knew it wasn’t his fault he didn’t know more. It eased my stress for at least a little while to watch him suffer.  
Twelve the second night. I got more information from four people that time, and I figured out where I needed to be asking around. I planned to go to Omashu, where the intelligence squadron of one of my victims was from. I used codes I’d gotten from two of the others to find a destination.  
One the third night. A regular police officer who followed me onto the train and wouldn’t fuck off. I got annoyed and threw him out a window, in turn clearing an entire car for myself.  
Nineteen the fourth night. The location was correct, and I managed to avoid their surveillance and launch a surprise attack. I got everything I needed to find Kya and started to form a real plan to get her out.  
Zero the fifth night. I travelled to Makapu Village, home to the volcano in which Kya’s prison was apparently situated. According to those I’d interrogated, they kept her there in order to make sure she’d have no access to water at all whatsoever. My journey there was uneventful to say the least.  
It was now the sixth night.  
I was going in.


	7. The Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’ll make the great escape, and we won’t hear a word they say. They don’t know us anyway. Watch it burn, let it die, cause we are finally free tonight.”

I waited until dark to begin climbing up the side of the volcano. When I was about halfway up, I bent a hole in the thick rock. I kept pushing through the natural wall until I felt immense heat against my face.  
 _Only a little further,_ I thought to myself, continuing my burrowing.  
My senses were overwhelmed with the heat, the smell of ash, the bright lava below. I shook my head to make myself pay attention. I could already feel several guards running at me across the metal terrace I was standing on. I dodged their attacks and knocked two off the side of the terrace, sending them tumbling down to the lava. The other two I encased in rock against the wall of the volcano.  
I then turned my attention back to Kya. There was an entirely metal cell suspended in the middle of the volcano. It had cables holding it up from all eight corners, though there didn’t seem to be any bridges. It took me a split second to find the cable closest to be, and I’d already latched onto it with my own metal rope by the time any other guards realized what was happening.  
I pulled myself up, grabbing the thick cable with my free hand. I heard shouts behind me, but I ignored them. I threw my cable loosely over the suspender, grabbing an end with each of my hands. I swung slightly then kicked off a large beam behind me, launching myself forwards.  
It didn’t take long for me to gain speed, sliding down to where Kya was locked. I landed hard on the top of the cell, causing it to shake slightly. I heard a giggle from below me and felt a smile of my own form.  
I reached down, sliding my fingers gently against the smooth metal of the prison’s roof. My eyes lifted briefly to check for guards, and found at least thirty on the closest terrace, trying to figure out what to do. My smile grew and I dug my fingers into the metal, pulling up a large chunk of it. I dropped it next to me and law flat on my stomach, peeking into the cell.  
“Miss me?” Kya asked cheekily, though her eyes betrayed her exhaustion.  
“So much,” I responded, extending my hand down to her.  
She gratefully accepted, helping me pull her through the hole and onto the roof next to her. I took the metal I’d pulled from the roof into my control, turning it into a series of metal spikes. Then, I grabbed Kya around the waist and used my cable to swing us to the lowest terrace, just below where the collection of guards stood. The spikes followed me dutifully, though I refused to use them just yet.  
Kya took my hand in hers as we ran slightly up the ramp, though we didn’t go far. Ten or so guards from the horde above had gotten themselves together enough to come and attack us, but they were no match. Even without any water Kya was able to combat three of them, sending them all over the railing to their deaths. I used a few of my metal spikes, impaling four and pinning the remaining three to the wall.   
We ran past them once we’d finished, getting a good clear stretch of space before the next guards confronted us. This time, there were only three of them, and it was hardly even a fight. One of them yelled for his mother as he fell to his demise   
After a few more confrontations with guards, I deemed us high enough to get through at a reasonable speed. I bent a hole into the rock of the volcano once again, this time from inside to out. I closed it behind us, and slowly started bending our way out. It tooo slightly longer this time, both because I had an extra person with me and because we weren’t quite as far up as I’d been before. There was also the fact that I was actually making sure to close the hole behind me now.  
Kya stayed silent while I focused on getting us out. She held my hand tightly though, and smiled a courage you each time I looked back at her. I couldn’t stop thinking about how drained she looked, how it was like the life had been almost entirely sucked out of her. I’d take care of her more later, for now we needed to get out.  
The air around us started to cool slightly as we got closer and closer to the outside. When we finally broke through, the cool night breeze was a great relief. We each took a moment to gather and refresh ourselves, happily cooling our lungs and faces in the wind.  
Before we began to move again, Kya spun her arms around her. The water was drawn from every plant within two metres of us, coming to hover in a ball near her hand. She took part of it and bent it into ice, creating a water skin out of water itself.  
We started to climb down the mountainside, careful to avoid particularly open areas. I could hear more shouts as guards spilled from the volcano, creating the illusion of what could have almost, in another life, been an actual eruption.  
Time passed quickly, and before we knew it we were at the base of the volcano. We had time to spare due to our quick but cautious approach, but I didn’t want to risk anything. I pulled Kya’s hand gently in the direction of the harbour. She understood immediately and let me guide her through the dark, taking up watch of our backs as we moved.  
We were significantly faster going than the guards and made it to the harbour without trouble. From there, Kya threatened the captain of one of the docked ships, wrapping his neck in water and squeezing. He agreed to take us wherever we wished to go in order to live and I smiled broadly. Everything was going great.

We arrived in the fire nation two weeks later. I’d been distracting myself from the seasickness by caring for Kya, letting her sleep and doing anything and everything I could for her. She was quite rejuvenated by the time we got there, and was also very happy to be surrounded by water while we travelled. It may not have been my favourite situation to be in a boat in the middle of an ocean, but I was happy to see her happy.  
Our intentions at first were simply to hide out in the fire nation for a time, but just as we docked Kya got excited about something. I raised an eyebrow at her, curious as to what had brought on the sudden energy burst. She hopped up and down a few times before she spoke, enthusiasm oozing from every pore.  
“We should go visit Zumi!!” I felt my face light up when I heard her suggestion.  
Of course. It would be amazing to get to see our childhood friend, and we were criminals here yet, so why not? I nodded and smiled at her, taking her hand.  
“Absolutely.”


	8. All The Good Girls Go To Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “All the good girls go to hell, cause even god herself has enemies.”

“You should really get some better security,” I purred as we walked into Izumi’s private chambers.  
We’d broken in with ease, and hadn’t even caused any deaths. By the time we were in the palace, there were only two times we saw guards, all of whom ignored us completely. I’d had to threaten the guard at the door of Izumi’s chambers, but he quickly surrendered.  
Izumi’s head whipped around when she heard my voice. She was seated at her desk, paperwork spread before her. She raises an eyebrow as she took in Kya and I standing arm in arm by her door.  
“Hi Zumi,” Kya smiled at our old friend, who shook her head.  
“What are you two-,” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
“Nevermind. I don’t really want to know, do I?” She shook her head again and turned back to her desk.  
“Make yourselves comfortable, just don’t destroy anything or kill anyone,” She droned, to which I laughed.  
“Oh Zumi, you were always such a stickler for _law_ and _morals_ ,” I cooed, unhooking my arm from Kya’s and walking over to her.  
“Such a _good girl_ ,” I said quietly, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.  
“I’m trying to work, if you couldn’t tell,” Izumi turned enough to shoot a glare at me.  
“If looks could kill, you’d have a higher kill count than we do,” I chuckled and pulled away, going to explore her chambers with Kya.  
Kya had already made her way through each room, inspecting each fancy object she came across. There were many, and I caught a mischievous look flash over her features. I rolled my eyes at her and smirked.  
 _Not yet_ , I mouthed with a wink. She stuck out her tongue and giggled then continued rummaging through Izumi’s things.  
I didn’t look around for very long before I flopped on Izumi’s bed. It was the softest bed I’d ever felt and I sighed deeply with the comfort. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting myself relax completely in the safety of Izumi’s room. I felt a weight beside me and opened my eyes to Kya lying beside me, a sleepy smile on her face.  
“I could get used to this,” She mumbled.  
“Mmm, absolutely,” I responded, reaching over to stroke her hair.  
A shadow came over us and Izumi cleared her throat, once again glaring at us. I smugly wiggled my fingers at her in greeting and she huffed.  
“Off the bed. You can join me for dinner in the great hall,” She said sternly before turning and walking out of the room.  
I never wanted to leave the cloud-like bed, but I propped myself up on my elbows anyways. I looked down at Kya lying by my side and watched her soft features moving peacefully with her breathing. After what felt like a very long moment, I pushed completely off the bed and stood facing Kya, grabbing her hand and pulling. She groaned in protest but let me help her to stand, keeping my hand in hers once she’d steadied herself.  
I leaned my head on her shoulder as we walked quietly to the great hall. Izumi was already there when we arrived, seated at the head of the table. She saw us come in and motioned to the two table settings beside her. I moved around the table to sit on her left and Kya took the seat on the right, shuffling her chair in close to the table. Once we were settled, three palace workers set covered dishes in front of us and removed the covers, revealing decadent roast duck with several aromatic sides. I thanked them as they walked away, and Izumi started talking.  
“You two need to leave. I know you’re technically not criminals here yet, although breaking and entering the royal palace is a major offense, so in reality, you are. You’re wanted by the entire Earth Kingdom and I’ve heard about the special service tracking you. I have no doubt they will not hesitate to come here, and I don’t want to have that happen. It will look terrible on my record if I let you stay, especially if your personal police show up.  
“You also have a record of killing civilians and causing major property damage. If you exhibit behaviour like this anywhere in the Fire Nation, I will be sending my own forces after you. We may be old friends, but that doesn’t change that you’re major criminals and I have a responsibility as Firelord to keep my country safe. Whether I do that by forcing you out or having you leave willingly and peacefully is up to you. You can stay the night, but you will be leaving tomorrow morning,” She looked between the two of us briefly before beginning to eat her meal.  
I frowned and began to eat as well. The food was delicious, but there was a tension in the air as we silently finished out meals. When we’d all cleared our plates, they were taken away, but we all remained seated. No more food was brought to us, and the silence got heavier by the second as we all waited for someone to break it. Finally, Kya spoke.  
“We can leave tomorrow. It’s not like there’s anywhere we can go, but I guess that doesn’t really matter. Sorry we put you in this position,” She mumbled the last sentence, but I heard her loud and clear.  
I couldn’t help but get angry at the fact that she was apologizing. I was angry at Izumi too, who’d been acting like she was superior since we’d arrived. I stayed silent for a moment before realizing that if we had to leave tomorrow anyway, I may as well get my frustration out.  
“You’re not any better than us, you know. The entire government that you work for is corrupt, just like every other government. You’re so obsessed with being the perfect leader that you continue to ignore how oppressive your politics are. You’ll end up in hell just the same as us,” I growled at Izumi.  
Her face remained calm, though I could tell she wasn’t happy about what I’d said. She stared at me for a long moment, our eyes locked and the hostility coming off of each of us in waves. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kya glancing nervously between the two of us and I felt her foot nudge me under the table. After at least a few minutes of staring, I put my hands on the table palm down.  
“You know what, we’ll leave tonight. It was so nice to see you, _Firelord_ , hopefully we can have the pleasure again sometime soon,” I shoved up from the table and started to leave.  
Kya quickly stood to follow me, leaning in to whisper something to Izumi before scurrying out behind me. I heard Izumi chuckle and get up, muttering quietly to one of the palace staff.  
“What did you say to her?” I groaned, more tired than mad now.  
“Oh, you know, just joking around,” Kya looked at me with fake innocence on her face.  
I sighed and shook my head, the corners of my lips lifting every so slightly. She slid her arm through mine and kissed the top of my head, pulling me forward through the palace hallway. We returned to Izumi’s chambers to grab our few belongings before setting off, finding ourselves another ship to get us back to the Earth Kingdom.  
We got back to Republic City three weeks later and decided to take up staying in the Beifong residence again for a short time. We were bound to get spotted again, but it would happen sooner or later anyway, so I tried not to let it bother me. We’d find our way out no matter what happened, just like we always did.


	9. Cradles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I love everything. Fire’s spreading all around my room, my world’s so bright. It’s hard to breath, but that’s alright. _Hush_.”

The longer we spent back in the Earth Kingdom, the more paranoid I grew. It was weeks before our first encounter with Saikhan’s special officers, and when we did, they didn’t even fight us. They just… let us go. It felt wrong. It got to a point where I rarely slept anymore. This past week had been particularly bad, but I didn’t let myself sleep anymore. I couldn’t.  
I was lying next to Kya in a surprisingly decent bed in the thousandth motel we’d been to. She was snoring softly, curled into my side. I stroked her hair as she slept, glad she would be well rested by the time we were moving again. We’d spent the week here, taking advantage of the quiet of the ghost town.  
I was convinced that the special units would catch up to us again soon. I couldn’t acknowledge the luck that we’d been having, because it was just that; luck.  
I hated not knowing. I hated constantly wondering if they were waiting for us. I hated the fact that they’d taken Kya. I hated Saikhan and all his stupid officers. I hated all of it.  
I shifted my head on the pillow to look at Kya. She seemed so peaceful, so trusting. I desperately needed to protect her. I knew I’d kill for her, hell, I already had plenty of times. I knew I’d also be willing to die for her. I hoped she’d kill for me too, but I prayed she’d never be foolish enough to die for me. I wouldn’t survive losing her, not now, not ever.  
My eyelids were impossibly heavy, but I kept myself awake. How long had it been? Four, five days maybe. Every noise sent a shock of panic through me, helping my mind stay alert. It was too long to go without sleep, but I didn’t care. I had to keep Kya safe. I had to.  
The idea came to me in the early hours of the morning. Kya had rolled over and was now huddled in a ball next to me, still snoring. I’d been listing people that I was angry with in my head, and I couldn’t get past Saikhan once I’d added his name. The hate I felt for that man was beyond any I’d ever felt. It almost paralleled the love I had for Kya.  
I was going to kill him.  
And I was going to do it alone.  
I slipped out of the bed, taking care not to wake Kya. I got dressed as quietly as I could and bent on my armour, taking a cable around each arm. I found a piece of paper and a pen to scribble a short note to Kya, one I prayed she would receive without a problem.

_Kya,  
I’ve gone to deal with something I’ve needed to do for a long time. Stay here as long as you can, and if you have to leave, don’t come to Republic City. Avoid it at all costs. Please. I’ll be back soon, I promise.  
All my love, Lin._

I folded it in half and set the paper on the small table next to Kya’s head. I leaned down and kissed her forehead softly, lingering for a moment longer than necessary. She stirred slightly but stayed asleep to my relief. I stood up straight and crossed the room to the window, climbing out as quietly as I could. I dropped to the ground not two feet down and pulled the window shut behind me, cringing at its creaking.  
I crept through the bushes until I got to the open field that surrounded the motel. I spotted the road to my left and started to run towards it, using two mounds of earth to move faster. I got there just as a truck was about to speed by. I used the two mounds to launch myself onto the roof of the truck, landing hard enough to dent the metal slightly.  
I heard a shout of confusion from the cab of the truck, replaced by silence a moment later as the driver listened for anything else. I held my breath, wind whipping in my face and making my braid fly wildly around me. I waited until I heard another sound from the cab, what sounded like a radio being turned on, to open a hole in the roof of the truck. I dropped into the dark space, closing the hold above me.  
I then bent the metal off of my foot and stomped hard, focussing on the vibrations going through the metal around me to see what I was surrounded by. It seemed to be stacks of heavy metal boxes. I moved several of them around in order to hide myself in the furthest corner from the door, settling in until we reached our destination. I had no doubt I’d end up in Republic City, whether it was on this truck or not didn’t matter.  
The gentle rocking of the truck was somehow the thing I needed to sleep, and I got my first shut-eye in days. I didn’t wake up until mid-afternoon the next day, when blinding light suddenly bounced into the space I was in, startling me out of a dream.

“Next load just came in, Chief!” I heard several of the boxes sliding out of the large doors at the back of the truck.  
My head was foggy from sleep, but I forced myself up anyways. Curiosity got the better of me, and before I got out of the truck, I ripped open the box closest to me. It was filled to the brim with gas tanks meant for heavy duty uses only. Suddenly, everything made sense.  
Saikhan was planning something big, something that needed gas tanks like these. Something that might actually take us down. I grinned, pleased that my impulsiveness had led me to being a step ahead of him.  
More crates were being unloaded. I needed to get out of there, now. I bent a hole in the wall facing the cab of the truck, stepping carefully out onto the beams that connected them. I closed the hole and looked to either side, taking in my surroundings.  
We’d come directly to the station. I couldn’t believe my luck. My worry returned at the thought, a voice in the back of my mind telling me it must have been a set up. Telling me they already had Kya again.  
I shoved my thoughts down and snapped myself back into the moment. I could hear Saikhan somewhere behind me yelling orders and clanking of metal on metal as more and more of the boxes were stacked somewhere. The doors at the rear of my truck slammed closed and I decided it was time to move. I figured it wouldn’t really matter if they saw me or not, considering the plan I’d just come up with.  
I ran from my spot on the truck towards the building. A few people yelled and came at me, but I just kept running. I slipped in the door just before it closed behind a young officer, temporarily locking the others out. The officer froze when they saw me pass them, but I just kept going. I made my way to the basement where the safe was, the safe that housed every flamethrower, extra set of cables, and any other weapon once could imagine. When I got there I bent a hole in the floor, remembering the emergency access pass they’d added in the floor of the safe when it had been installed. I bent a small tunnel to the softer spot in the floor and pushed my way into the room.  
My first priority was getting a flamethrower. Once I tested one directly into my tunnel and was satisfied with its efficiency, I bent the cables from my wrists and grabbed new ones. I glanced around the room for anything else that I could use but decided against it, hopping back into my hole and crawling to the other side. There were several guards waiting for me when I emerged, all in ready position for a fight. I tilted my head humorously at them, a smile forming on my face. They shot confused looks at one another before turning back to me, bracing for attack.  
I grabbed hold with my mind of all their armour and squeezed. Their eyes bulged and they gasped for air, their faces quickly turning red and then blue. I stepped over where they’d crumpled on the ground and walked back upstairs, happily meeting with the countless guards that were waiting for me. That’s when I started playing with fire.

Much of the building above ground was made of wood. A stupid mistake, really, but it worked in my favour today. I unleashed my flamethrower on the group of officers, sending them screaming towards the exit. I sent another flame licking at their backs as they ran, glad that the fire had already caught in several places.  
I continued through the building, slowly spreading the fire to every corner. The smoke started to grow thick and my lungs burned, but I continued on.  
I eventually made my way outside again, where hordes of armoured professionals stood, many coughing after having just escaped my fire. I pointed my flamethrower at them as I walked past, daring them to make a move against me. Once I’d passed them and found the storage of the gas tanks and other various specialized weapons, I started up the flame again.  
I was well aware of the dangers of combining heat and compressed gas. I enjoyed the screams behind me as people realized what I was doing and scrambled to get as far away as they could. Most of them took too long and were forcefully blasted backwards alongside me when the tanks exploded. I closed my eyes and folded my arms over my chest as I flew through the air, bracing for the impact of falling on the hard ground. Instead, I landed softly on a pile of bodies.  
I pushed myself up and looked around, trying to find Saikhan in the midst of all the chaos. When I finally spotted him standing near the building, I started to walk towards him. He shot his cables at me but I bent them out of his control, adding them to my own armoury by wrapping them around my ankles. His eyes widened as I continued walking towards him.  
Our eyes locked when I was just two metres from him, double that from the door of the burning building. I held his eye and moved in closer, licking my teeth in anticipation.  
“Stop!” He yelled desperately.  
“You’re under… arrest,” He continued, voice quiet by the last word.  
I was now standing face to face with him, much too close for comfort. I saw a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and he inhaled deeply. The smell of smoke filled my lungs again, and this time I reveled in it. I leaned back from him and cocked my head to the side.  
“If you want to arrest me, you’ll have to come get me yourself,” I said just before bolting back into the fire.


	10. Sleep Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Protecting you, protecting me. I throw the evidence into a trunk and drop it in the sea.”

I didn’t go far into the building, but the heat was still almost unbearable. I could barely breathe through the thick smoke, but I had nothing to cover my face with. Flames danced around me and the burning created a deafeningly constant roar.  
Oddly enough, I was calm. I knew Saikhan would follow me in. He was desperate to prove himself worthy, desperate to be the hero. He’d rather die trying to arrest me than not try at all and simply let me die in the fire. Seconds later, I was proven right.  
He started to cough as soon as he rammed through the door. His eyes found mine and I saw the fear threatening to outweigh his desperation.  
I walked slowly towards him, resisting coughs of my own. When I got close to him, I held my arms out to him, palms up. Relief flashed across his face and he pulled out a pair of platinum handcuffs. Before he could snap them around my wrists, though, I bent the metal armour from my arm into a small sword, impaling him. He dropped the cuffs in shock and lifted his eyes to mind again. He looked like he might cry, but with the heat and smoke that was made impossible.  
I used the sword still lodged in his stomach to shove him against the nearest flame ridden wall. If he cried out in any way, I didn’t hear, the roar of the fire drowning him out easily.  
My other hand found its way to his throat and pressed firmly, cutting off his already laboured breathing and securing him against the wall. I pulled the sword from his stomach for a moment before ramming it into him again. With each stab he winced, while his face grew bluer by the second.   
After a few short minutes, his body went limp and I knew it was time to get out. My body had been protesting the heat and smoke for too long now, and if I didn’t escape the hellhole soon, I had no doubt that this could be my deathbed too. I wrapped a cable around Saikhan and hauled him over my shoulder. I walked to the exit and pushed it open, gasping when the cool, fresh air hit my face.  
Coughs racked my body. When my breathing was somewhat more controlled again, I looked around. The explosion I’d caused had killed nearly everyone close by, and anyone not dead was reasonably injured. My guess was that I was bleeding internally, probably with several broken bones and such. By now there was too much pain throughout my body for me to single any specific injury out.  
I spotted a van that had somehow been far enough from the explosion to survive with little damage. My pace was quite slow, but I got there in time. I bent the lock open and threw Saikhan into the passenger side. I climbed in after him and bent the ignition to start the car, not caring enough to properly hijack it. The rumbling of the engine was welcomed and I couldn’t start driving fast enough.

It took a few hours for me to reach the motel I’d left Kya at. When I got there, I found it more abandoned than it’d been when we’d first arrived. I made my way to the room we’d been using, leaving the van and Saikhan in the parking lot. To my relief, there was a note from Kya sitting on a suitcase that had been placed on the bed.

_Lin,  
Use this suitcase for whatever evidence you end up with. I have a feeling I know what “business” you’re referring to. I hope you were safe and are well enough to read this now. I’m heading to Oruna and should be there by sundown. If you don’t make it here in three days time… I’ll have to assume the worst. Please, please come find me.  
As always, I love you.  
Kya_

I read the note a few times over. After the fourth time, what she’d said finally sunk in, and I raced back out to the van, suitcase in tow. When I reached the van I unzipped the bag and opened the passenger side. Saikhan was slumped in the seat, blood steadily seeping from his torn stomach.  
I lifted him from the seat and set him down awkwardly in the suitcase. It took some odd maneuvering, but I got him completely tucked in and was able to close the bag again. I hoisted it up into the now empty passenger seat and slammed the car door, walking quickly around to the other side. I wanted to get to Kya as quickly as I could.  
The drive was both painfully slow and fast at the same time. It took everything in me not to push the van beyond its maximum speed, but I reminded myself of Kya’s letter to help. I needed to make it to her. She’d wait three days for me, but that was it. I’d take a lot longer than three days if I were to crash.  
At long last, I arrived in Oruna. I had no clue as to where I could find Kya now that I was here, but I decided that the harbourfront would be a good place to start. I parked the van and got out, walking around to the other side and retrieving the suitcase. I dragged it behind me as I made my way down a long dock, scanning for signs of my waterbender.  
I got all the way to the other end of the long pier and still no sign of her. There was a bench facing the water, so I decided with a sigh that I’d stay there for the night. It was only late afternoon, but the sun was beginning to set. As the sky darkened, I gazed quietly at the shining water.  
It must have been a few hours of dark before anything changed. I’d made no attempt to sleep with the possibility or Kya or anyone else finding me looking overhead. At first the only change was that the small waves on the water went completely still, but only around the section of dock I was on. It was then that I felt a hand rest gently on my shoulder.

I nearly jumped out of my skin with the sudden contact. I usually would’ve felt someone coming, but the doc was wooden and my seismic sense was rendered useless. I just about melted when I turned to see that it was Kya. She came around the bench and sat next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. She took my hands in hers, rubbing her thumb gently back and forth.  
I felt an odd shift on my hands, and looked down to see Kya bending Saikhan’s blood off of them. She turned it back into liquid in the air, moving it around in patterns. She moved her gaze from the blood to the suitcase, and then up to me. I nodded and she understood that the blood in her grasp was the same that had flowed through the veins of what now occupied the bag.  
Kya smiled a tiny bit and, to my surprise, bent the blood to cover her hands. She rubbed them together, only spreading the blood more. Once she seemed satisfied with her bloodying of her own hands, she stood and took the suitcase.  
“What are you…?” I asked quietly.  
The only answer I got was a soft smile as she turned towards the water. I stood from the bench but stayed behind, taking in her glowing form in the moonlight.  
That was the moment I knew I’d do anything for her. I watched as she dropped the bag into the river, waterbending it to make sure it sunk nice and deep. My heart sputtered when she turned back to me, wiping her bloody hands on the front of her deep blue pants. I walked up to her, leaning up to plant a kiss on her soft lips.  
“I’m going to give you that whole damn city if it’s the last thing I do,” I whispered, plan already forming in my head.


End file.
